KMFDM stops at Lancaster's Chameleon Club on smaller market tour

KMFDM is a band for the people -- a band without pretensions that knows how to serve its fans. A prime example of the band’s ability to relate to its fans is evidenced with its current tour -- a tour that touches down locally with a show on Nov. 1 at the Chameleon Club in Lancaster.

“After our North American back in the spring, a lot of people contacted us and said -- you never played Florida or you never came to our town or that we hadn’t been there on tour for years,” said band leader/founding member Sascha Konietzko, during a recent phone interview from his home in Hamburg, Germany.

“So, we decided to come back and play smaller markets and smaller venues. It’s a compromise you have to make -- but we are KMFDM. The fans were right. We’ve never been to Albuquerque or Houston or St. Petersburg. So, this time, we’re performing in a bunch of towns we’ve never played before -- and some of our old favorite places.”

The group’s current lineup, which has remained stable for at least seven years, features Lucia Cifarelli on vocals, Steve White on guitar, Jules Hodgson on guitars, Andy Selway on drums, and Sascha Konietzko on keyboards, bass and programming.

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Konietzko and Cifarelli, who are husband-and-wife, live in Germany while the other three band members are Americans. Konietzko and his band mates are the forefathers of industrial rock – the progenitors of a whole breed of rockers who view noise as a valid foundation for songs.

The group began in Hamburg, Germany as “Kein Mehrheit Fur Die Mitleid” (which eventually was shortened to the acronym KMFDM). It released its first album in1984 and is still making music that is vital, vibrant and vicious. The logo on the band’s webpage reads “KMFDM -- Over Two & One Half Decades of Conceptual Continuity.”

“KMFDM celebrated its 29th birthday on March 1,” said Konietzko. “And, KMFDM will be around to celebrate its 30th birthday...and its 31st.”

KMFDM just released its latest album “Kunst” on Metropolis Records. As usual, it hits hard – lyrically and sonically – with songs dealing with politics and other topical issues.

“The songs really started to rock about a week into the tour in the spring -- after four or five shows,” said Konietzko. “With live drums and two guitars live, the songs are much more rock than they are on the record.

“When we play them on stage, they totally change-- whatever way they have to go to make it fun for everybody. We’re doing a similar set to what we played in the spring. Everyone still wants to hear the songs from ‘Kunst.’ You have to work it while the iron is hot.”

“It’s hard to believe that our 30th anniversary is coming up,” said Konietzko. “I’m totally surprised. When I started the band, I had no hope or vision for it ever to go on this long. It’s one of those dreams come true when you can make a living doing what you love best.”

KMFDM will be performing on Nov. 1 at 7 p.m. at the Chameleon Club (223 N. Water St., Lancaster, 717-299-9684, www.chameleonclub.net). Tickets are $20.